Terminal and method for efficient use and identification of peripherals having audio lines

ABSTRACT

A communication system comprises a terminal configured for being able to communicate with a computer and to operate according to at least one operational parameter. A peripheral device for use with the terminal has a characterizing parameter associated therewith. The terminal is operable for reading the characterizing parameter from the peripheral device when the device is coupled to the terminal. The terminal is further operable for configuring itself to operate according to an operational parameter associated with the characterizing parameter of the peripheral device.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The application is a Continuation-In-Part application of U.S.application Ser. No. 10/185,995, filed Jun. 27, 2002, which applicationis incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates generally to computer terminals andperipherals and more specifically to wearable, mobile and/or portablecomputer terminals with headsets for use in speech recognition systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Wearable, mobile and/or portable computer terminals are used fora wide variety of tasks. Such terminals allow workers using them to havemobility, while providing the worker with desirable computing anddata-processing functions. Furthermore, various terminals provide acommunication link to a larger, more centralized computer system. Suchterminals are being implemented for an ever-increasing number of tasks.

[0004] One illustrative example of a specific use for awearable/mobile/portable terminal is inventory management. Computerizedinventory management systems are used in inventory-driven industries forvarious tasks, such as food and retail product distribution,manufacturing, and quality control. An overall integrated managementsystem involves a combination of a central computer system for trackingand management, and the people who use and interface with the computersystem in the form of order fillers, pickers and other workers. Theworkers handle the manual aspects of the integrated system.

[0005] To provide an interface between the central computer system andthe workers, wearable/mobile computers or terminals are used by theworkers as they complete their numerous tasks. Such wearable terminals,for example, pull information directly from the central system andtranslate the information into voice or text commands for the workers.Through wireless RF networks, the commands to and responses from theworkers are communicated between the system and the terminals. Tocommunicate in a voice-driven system, for example, the worker wears aheadset which is coupled to his wearable terminal. Through the headset,the workers are able to receive voice instructions, ask questions,report the progress of their tasks, and report working conditions, suchas inventory shortages, for example. Using such terminals, the work isdone virtually hands-free without equipment to juggle or paperwork tocarry around.

[0006] In addition to headsets, other peripherals are often coupled tothe terminals depending upon the tasks to be performed. For example, barcode readers and other scanners may be utilized alone or in combinationwith a headset to communicate back and forth with the system.

[0007] An illustrative example of a job through a system utilizingwearable and/or portable terminals having voice capabilities may involveinitially welcoming the worker to the system and defining a particulartask or order, for example, a load to be filled for a certain truck todepart from a warehouse. The worker may then answer with a particulararea (e.g., freezer) that they will be working in for that order. Thesystem then vocally directs the worker to a particular aisle and bin topick a particular quantity of an item. The worker then vocally confirmstheir location and the amount of items that are picked. The system maythen direct them to a loading dock or bay for a particular truck toreceive the order. As may be appreciated, various different scenariosmight be played out through a system using a wearable terminal andattached peripherals.

[0008] In its operation, a wearable terminal utilizes operationalsoftware which controls how it performs for the worker or user and howit interfaces with the central system. Such terminal software often hasa large set of parameters and features which must be controlled on aper-user basis. Those parameters include, for example, voice templates,user-specific voice models, volume preferences, text-to-text speechpreferences, etc. Therefore, each worker who is to wear and use aparticular terminal will have to traverse through a series of sometimescomplex and cumbersome menu options to select the desired userconfiguration. Such an exercise is usually error prone and is certainlytime consuming and therefore inefficient. Furthermore, when the terminalis used by another worker on a different shift, it will be configuredfor that worker and will then have to be re-configured for the originalworker, assuming that they even get their original terminal back foruse.

[0009] It is also desirable to ensure that an approved headset is beingused. At many sites, the workers are required to maintain their ownheadsets, and possibly any other personal peripherals. This is done forseveral reasons. One of those reasons is to encourage careful use andmaintenance of the hardware and peripherals by assigning individualresponsibility to the worker. Another reason, particularly in the caseof the headset, is to promote sanitary hygiene practices.

[0010] There is thus a need to improve the efficiency of the workers whoutilize wearable and/or portable terminals to interface with a centralsystem. There is further a need to improve customization of peripheralsused by specific users. Specifically, it is desirable to reduce theerrors and time associated with configuring terminal equipment for eachspecific worker. It is also desirable to further improve the management,tracking and maintenance of such terminal equipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of theinvention and, together with a general description of the inventiongiven above and the detailed description given below, serve to explainthe invention.

[0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a worker using a terminal andperipherals in accordance with the present invention.

[0013]FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

[0014]FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a system incorporating thepresent invention.

[0015]FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown, in use, a portable and/orwearable terminal or computer 10 and peripheral device 16 whichincorporates an embodiment of the present invention. The portableterminal may be a wearable device, which may be worn by a worker 11,such as on a belt 14 as shown. This allows hands-free use of theterminal. Of course, the terminal might also be manually carried orotherwise transported. The use of the term “terminal” herein is notlimited and may include any computer, device, machine, or system whichis used to perform a specific task, and which is used in conjunctionwith one or more peripheral devices.

[0017] In one exemplary and illustrative use, such portable computerdevices or wearable terminals 10 may be used in inventory management andwarehouse environments where workers and other users of the terminal arerequired to: retrieve various items within the warehouse to fill anorder, restock shelves, and generally manage and move inventory. Ofcourse, other uses of the terminal, peripherals and invention describedherein are contemplated, and the invention is not limited to inventorymanagement systems. The portable terminal 10 permits the worker 11 tocommunicate with one or more central computers (see FIG. 3) which arepart of a larger inventory management system for sending and receivinginformation regarding the activities and tasks to be performed by theworker. The central computer 90 or computers may run one or more systemsoftware packages for inventory and warehouse management.

[0018] To provide communication between terminal 10 and a centralcomputer 90 or computers, generally one or more peripheral devices orperipherals, such as a headset 16, are coupled to terminal 10. Headset16 is coupled to the terminal by a cord 18. The headset 16 is worn onthe head of the worker or a wireless link and allows hands-freeoperation and movement through a warehouse or other facility.

[0019] Alternatively, other peripherals might be used with the terminal10, but are not specifically shown in FIG. 1. For example, a bar codereader might be utilized as well as some other scanner device or aprinter. Also, when new workers are acclimated to the system, an audiotraining device might be assigned to the new worker and utilized withthe terminal. Various other suitable devices might also be utilized forproviding an interface between the worker 11, the terminal 10, thecentral computer 90, and the inventory and products being moved andmanaged. Therefore, the present invention and its applicability is notlimited only to a headset or the peripherals described and noted hereinand may be used with other peripherals. One suitable terminal forincorporating the invention is the Talkman⁷ product available fromVocollect of Pittsburgh, Pa.

[0020] As noted above, it may be desirable to assign one or moreperipherals to a specific worker to be maintained and kept by thatworker, for various reasons, such as personal responsibility andhygiene, to name a few. In accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention, a characterizing parameter, such as a use, location, usergroup, user or other characterizing signal, is associated with one ormore peripherals and coupled to the terminal, and the characterizingparameter for a peripheral is read by the terminal. Based upon thecharacterizing parameter, the terminal associates one or moreoperational parameters with the characterizing parameter for theperipheral and the terminal configures itself and operates according tothose parameters. That is, the peripheral automatically or otherwisedetermines how the terminal is configured to operate. As furtherdiscussed herein below, the characterizing parameter might be associatedwith a chip included in the peripheral, such as in headset 16. Uponreading the code from the chip, the terminal, in one example, configuresitself so that it operates in the desired way for the worker who ownsand/or uses the specific peripheral or who is associated with thatcharacterizing code or parameter.

[0021] In other embodiments, the characterizing parameter might beassociated with a bar code or an RF identification or RFID. Thecharacterizing parameter may be associated with a specific worker oruser, or a group of users or workers, for example. The characterizingparameter might also be associated with a specific use or a location.The transfer of the characterizing parameter occurs automatically uponcoupling the peripheral with the terminal 10 in one embodiment and,therefore, reduces the error and time associated with the workerspecifically and manually or otherwise configuring the terminal everytime it is used. In that way, it improves the efficiency of the workerand helps to improve upon the management and maintenance of equipmentused in warehouse and inventory management tasks.

[0022]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one exemplary embodiment utilizingthe invention. Specifically, the terminal 10 for communicating with asystem, such as an inventory management system, or any other system withwhich a worker might need to communicate, comprises a processor circuitor processor 40 for controlling the operation of the terminal. As may beappreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art, such processorsoperate according to an operating system, which is asoftware-implemented series of instructions. The processor may also runone or more application programs. In one embodiment of the invention, aprocessor, such as an Intel SA-1110, might be utilized as the mainprocessor and coupled to a suitable companion circuit or companion chip42 by appropriate lines 44. One suitable companion circuit might be anSA-1111, also available from Intel. The processor 40, and any companioncircuit, are coupled to appropriate memory, such as flash memory 46 andrandom access memory (SDRAM) 48. For example, a 128 Megabit Strataflashmemory component might be utilized for flash memory 46 while one or more128 Megabit SDRAM chips might be utilized for the random access memory48. The processor and companion chip 40, 42, are coupled to the memory46, 48 through appropriate busses, such as 32 bit parallel address bus50 and data bus 52.

[0023] To provide wireless communication between the wearable terminal10 and central computer 90, the terminal 10 also utilizes a PC card slot54, so as to provide a wireless ethernet connection, such as an IEEE802.11 wireless standard. RF communication cards 56 from various vendorsmight be coupled with the PCMCIA slot 54 to provide communicationbetween terminal 10 and the central computer 90, depending on thehardware required for the wireless RF connection.

[0024] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, aperipheral coupled to terminal 10 might be a headset 16 which provideshands-free voice communication between the worker 11 and the centralcomputer of a warehouse management system. To that end, digitalinformation has to be converted to an audio format, and vice versa, toprovide the communication between the system and a worker. For example,in a typical system, the terminal 10 would receive digital instructionsfrom the central computer 90 and will convert those instructions toaudio to be heard by a worker 11. The worker 11 will then reply, in aspoken language, and the audio reply will be converted to a useabledigital format to be transferred back to the central computer of thesystem for use in tracking inventory and order filling. It will beappreciated that herein, reference is made to a central computer 90 of asystem (see FIG. 3). However, a system might utilize various differentcomputers, and the present invention is not limited to a specific systemor computer with which a terminal 10 incorporating the invention may beutilized.

[0025] For conversion between digital and analog audio, a CODEC 60 isutilized, and is coupled through an appropriate serial interface 62 toone or both of the processors 40, 42. For example, in the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 2, the audio CODEC 60 is coupled through serialinterface 62 to the companion processor 42. One suitable audio circuit,for example, might be a UDA 1341 audio CODEC available from Philips.

[0026] Referring to FIG. 2, a peripheral, such as a headset 64, iscoupled with the audio CODEC 60 for providing audio input/output, e.g.,to the terminal from the worker, and to the worker from the terminal.Other peripherals, such as a bar code reader 66, a scanner 68, atraining device 70 or a printer 71 might be coupled to an appropriateserial interface of the terminal 10, and specifically to a serialinterface 73 of processor 40. The various peripherals provide a datacollecting and communicating interface between the terminal 10, theworker 11, the computer 90 and the overall environment and inventory.That is, the terminal 10 may collect inventory, stocking, and orderfilling information through a headset, bar code or scanner, and may alsoprovide instructions through those various peripherals and/or through aprinter. The training device 70 might be utilized with a new worker tocoach them through training the terminal and the system with their voicecommands.

[0027] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, aperipheral 64, 66, 68, 70, 71 has a defined characterizing parameterassociated therewith to be read by the terminal circuitry, such asprocessors 40, 42, and utilized to define the operation of the terminal10. Specifically, the processors 40, 42 control the operation of theterminal, such as through the execution of the operating system andapplication programs. The operating system software and applicationsoftware utilized by the terminal, such as application/operatingsoftware stored in the processor memory or in separate memory 46, 48, isutilized to define various operational parameters for the terminal. Forexample, the volume on the terminal may be adjusted up or down to helpthe worker 11 communicate, such as in a noisy environment. Furthermore,voice templates may be utilized for each specific user. Voice templatesprovide a fingerprint of the user's voice to be recognized by theterminal. Still further, text-to-speech preferences may be anoperational parameter for the terminal for providing the necessaryterminal settings which address the pitch, speed, gender, etc. of thevoice commands through the terminal. Still other operational parametersfor the terminal and for specific peripherals are defined by theterminal and may be implemented and adjusted by a worker.

[0028] As noted above, such operational parameters for configuring theterminal may be associated with a menu through which a worker willprogress. Generally, the terminal will include input/output devices,such as buttons, screens, cursors, readouts, etc., for allowing a workerto access a menu and program their specific terminal for the desirablesettings and operational parameters which they would like to use.Traditionally, a worker has had to progress through a series of complexand cumbersome menu options to select the proper configuration andoperational parameters. Such manual manipulation is error prone and timeconsuming.

[0029] As used herein, the term “operational parameters” is used torefer to the various different configurations, settings, parameters,menus, preferences, selections, etc. under which or by which theterminal may operate. Certain of the operational parameters may be thosetraditionally selectable by a worker through menus. However, other suchoperational parameters which might be associated with a characterizingparameter of the invention, might be only selectable upon use of acertain peripheral.

[0030] In one aspect of the present invention, the peripherals includedefined characterizing parameters which may be read or otherwisedetermined by one or more of the processor components 40, 42, when aperipheral is coupled to the terminal. In one embodiment, such adetermination of the characterizing parameter is made automatically uponcoupling the peripheral to the terminal. Alternatively, a worker mightbe prompted to initiate such a determination when the peripheral andterminal are coupled. The processor or other terminal circuitry isfurther operable for associating a desired operational parameter, ormultiple operational parameters, with the characterizing parameter ofthe peripheral and then configuring the terminal to operate according tothose associated operational parameters. That is, the processor circuits40, 42 will configure the terminal with the desired settings,configurations and other operational parameters that are desired by orassociated with the worker by the coupling of a peripheral to theterminal. In that sense, the characterizing parameter is associated withthe user and the user's preferences or the specific preferences thatmight be assigned to the user. In a general sense, the usecharacterizing parameter is associated with how and/or by whom theterminal is to be used. As discussed below, such criteria may be definedby or associated with a specific user, a group of users or a location orarea of a facility, for example. Therefore, whenever a user couples hisperipheral to terminal 10, that terminal will reconfigure itself so thatit operates according to the way that the specific user desires oraccording to the way that the terminal should be configured based onother user criteria, as discussed below. Subsequently, if another workerutilizes the same terminal and plugs a specific peripheral into theterminal, the terminal will again reconfigure itself based upon the usecharacterizing parameters and user criteria defined by the specificperipheral coupled thereto. As such, the present invention avoids thecumbersome and time consuming task of requiring each new user tomanually travel through the complex menu options to configure theterminal as desired. Rather, based upon an initial configuration andassociated operational parameters that are stored and associated withrespect to a characterizing parameter, the desired configuration isachieved automatically by coupling a peripheral with the terminal.

[0031] In one embodiment of the invention, as discussed herein, acharacterizing parameter for a peripheral is associated with usercriteria for a specific worker or user. In that way, upon reading thecharacterizing parameter of the peripheral, the terminal is configuredbased upon that specific user's criteria and personal preferences.Alternatively, the terminal might be configured, not according to aspecific user's criteria or personal preferences, but according toassociated user criteria selected by the system. That is, all theperipherals for a group of users which may be working in a certain areaor section of a facility may require that the terminals be configuredgenerally with the same user criteria for the user group and with theassociated desired operational parameters, but not necessarily theoperational parameters and criteria desired by an individual user. Inthat way, parameters might be associated with the criteria for a groupof users rather than individuals. The group might be defined by varioususer criteria, such as their location and/or a job within a warehouse orother facility.

[0032] In another embodiment, the terminal might be configured based ona specific use of the terminal and not on the preferences of a user.

[0033] Alternatively, a peripheral might not be assigned to one or moreindividual users, but rather might be associated with a particular areain the warehouse or some other particular criteria. That is, the usercriteria is location specific. When a terminal is utilized with such aperipheral and the terminal reads the characterizing parameter of theperipheral, the terminal will be configured for that specific facilityarea or for the specific user criteria associated with thecharacterizing parameter. Therefore, the characterizing parameter aspectof the present invention might be associated with a specific use, withuser criteria for an individual worker and their individual preferences,with a group of workers and their individual or selective preferencesfor the group, with the location of the terminals or some other group orsubset criteria, such that the terminals will be readily and/orautomatically configured when specific peripherals having characterizingparameters are coupled thereto.

[0034] In one embodiment of the invention, the characterizing parameterfor a peripheral is defined by a device or component, such as a chip.Upon coupling the peripheral to the terminal, the processor orprocessors 40, 42 read the individual code of the chip, which definesits characterizing parameter. One or more operational parameters areassociated with that specific peripheral code and associatedcharacterizing parameter and the user or other criteria associated withthe characterizing parameter. The association of the operation parameterwith the characterizing parameter may be achieved in various differentways. For example, utilizing the characterizing parameter which isreceived or read from the peripheral, a look-up table might provide thedesired operational parameters for reconfiguring the terminal accordingto specific criteria. As such, the terminal may have stored in memorythe operational parameters associated with a number of characterizingparameters and specific peripherals corresponding to the workers whomight use the terminal or other location. To that end, when the terminalis originally configured with a peripheral plugged into or coupled withthe terminal, the original parameters might be saved and stored based onthe characterizing parameter, and thereby associated with thecharacterizing parameter of the peripheral. Alternatively, theoperational parameters might be stored in one or more central computersassociated with the system, and may be downloaded to the terminal uponthe terminal communicating with those computers. In that way, thecharacterizing parameter of the peripheral is read by the terminal andis passed through the terminal to the system computers wherein thedesired configuration or operational parameters are retrieved that areassociated with that characterizing parameter.

[0035] Referring again to FIG. 2, a headset 64 is shown having acharacterizing or configuring chip or component 74 therein or associatedtherewith. As discussed below, the component 74 might also represent adevice that interfaces with the terminal to provide characterizingparameters. In the scenario of a chip, dedicated lines 75 couple thechip to processor 42 so that the code of the headset 64 (i.e.,characterizing parameter) may be read. When the headset 64, andparticularly the cord 18 associated with the headset, is coupled toterminal 10, the processor 42 reads the use characterizing code orparameter associated with the headset. Based upon the characterizingparameter, the processor circuits 40, 42 progress through the selectablefeatures of the system for configuring the terminal into theconfiguration associated with the characterizing parameters, such asthat desired by the particular worker who owns the headset 64 or otherperipheral, for example. The various operational parameters associatedwith the characterizing parameter might be retrieved from memory 46, 48or other memory.

[0036] Similarly, a bar code reader 66 also includes a chip 76 or othercomponent that defines the characterizing parameter for that peripheral.Upon coupling the peripheral, through a serial interface 62, 73 to oneof the processors 40, 42, the characterizing parameter is read by theterminal, such as by the processor(s), and the processor(s) are furtheroperable for associating one or more operational parameters with thecharacterizing parameter of the peripheral. Generally, the operationalparameters for configuration of the terminal for the bar code readerwill be different from the operational parameters for configuration ofthe terminal for the headset. That is, the terminal 10 handles multipledifferent sets of operational parameters and will select them based uponthe peripheral which is coupled thereto. Different peripherals havedifferent operational parameters or sets of operational parameters. Forexample, a bar code reader 66, which does not generally interfacebetween the central computer and the worker with voice commands, willnot require configuration of voice parameters as would a headset 64.

[0037] Other peripherals may be utilized, and the present invention isnot limited to the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein. For example,a scanner 68 includes a chip or component 78 that defines itscharacterizing parameter. Upon coupling the scanner to processor 40through a serial interface 73, the characterizing parameter isdetermined and associated with one or more operational parameters forthe scanner 68. Likewise, a training device 70 with a chip or component80 is coupled to the processor 40 which reads the chip 80 for thetraining device 70 and adjusts the configuration of the terminal and itsoperation accordingly. Still further, a printer 71 with chip orcomponent 81 might also be coupled to processor 40. In that way, thepresent invention may handle multiple peripherals at one time and canprovide the desired operational parameters and operational configurationfor each of those peripherals without requiring the worker to slowly gothrough each available menu for a peripheral. This results insignificant time savings and eliminates errors associated with suchprogramming. A worker will not usually require that all availableperipherals be associated with the terminal at once.

[0038] In another embodiment of the invention, peripherals such as barcode reader 66, or scanner 68, might define a characterizing parameterand an operational parameter for the terminal by reading or scanning aparticular code, and then transferring that to the terminal throughtheir respective components 76, 78. For example, a bar code reader mightread a bar code that would then be transferred to the terminal to tellthe terminal how to configure itself.

[0039] In another embodiment of the invention, the component, such ascomponent 74, utilized by a peripheral such as a headset 64, might be anRF identification, or RFID wherein the headset 10 would then have thecapability, such as an RF reader incorporated into the processingcircuitry of the headset to read the RFID. In that way, a dedicated linewould not be necessary for transferring a characterizing parameter tothe terminal 10. Rather, such interfacing would be automatic when theperipheral and the terminal are brought into proximity with each other.

[0040] The present invention allows any number of peripherals to beassociated with a user, a particular use, a location, a group of users,etc., and then to configure a specific terminal as desired to adapt toone of those “people groups” or other criteria.

[0041] In another aspect of the present invention, the variousperipherals and their location may be tracked based upon thecharacterizing parameter associated with each of the peripherals.Referring to FIG. 3, each of the various terminals 80, 82 and 84interface with one or more central computers 90, such as throughwireless communication signals 88. Associated with the terminals mightbe various peripherals P₁, P₂, P₃. Upon coupling one or more of theperipherals to a terminal 80-84, the specific characterizing parameterassociated with the peripheral may be forwarded to central computer 86.The central computer 86 is then operable for tracking the existence anduse of the peripheral within the system, and its specific location asassociated with a terminal 80-84. The central computer 86 may thenprovide inventory control for the peripherals, such as for maintenancepurposes, to reduce theft, and for efficient use of the peripheralresources. For example, one worker may have a bar code reader, but maybe located in a particular area of the warehouse that may be filling anorder which does not require a bar code reader. In that way, the centralcomputer might be utilized to direct another worker to the location ofthe bar code reader if they need it. Alternatively, the central computermight be utilized to communicate to the worker who has the bar codereader that someone else needs it. As discussed herein, the termcharacterizing parameter is utilized to generally designate theidentification information provided to a terminal or computer by a chipor other component or device, and associated with a specific peripheral.In the present invention, the name of a worker might be associated witha terminal they are using. Therefore the worker is associated with thevarious peripherals coupled to the terminal based on the characterizingparameters read by the terminal and transferred to the central computer.In that way, the characterizing parameters of the various peripheralsmight be utilized to instruct the workers, by name, to pass peripheralsback and forth to each other, as they are needed.

[0042] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, powersources such as batteries also have specific characterizing parameterswhich are read by the terminal, specifically a terminal processorcircuits 40, 42. The operational parameters of the terminal associatedwith power may then be configured as desired for the specific batteryplugged into the terminal and associated with the characterizingparameter that is read. That is, whenever a specific battery is attachedto the terminal, the operational software of the terminal mayautomatically adjust. In one embodiment, it is anticipated that theassociation of operational parameters with a characterizing parameterwill occur automatically upon coupling a peripheral with a terminal.However, as a further step, it might be required that the workeractually requests such reconfiguration based upon one or more simpleinputs. That is, the new configuration would not occur automatically.

[0043] With respect to battery performance and battery management, theoperational software of the terminal or the central computer could tracka history of battery performance for each battery which is used with theterminal. The terminal software could adapt its voltage/timecharacteristic curve for detecting a low battery situation in order tonotify the worker that a new battery will be required. Furthermore,utilizing the characterizing parameter associated with a battery,further operational characteristics, rather than just low batteryvoltage monitoring, may be achieved. For example, in one embodiment, thesoftware will monitor the life of a battery between its fully chargedstate and the low battery state. As batteries deteriorate, one symptomis that they do not hold a sufficient charge as long and thus aredepleted more rapidly (shorter life). With the present invention, suchan occurrence may be detected so that a battery (defined by itscharacterizing parameter) may be taken completely out of circulation anddisposed of, rather than having it go through additional wastefulre-charge cycles. Again, as noted above with respect to FIG. 3, not onlymight the terminal notify a worker wearing the specific terminal, butalso central computer 90 might receive such information as well so thatall the batteries used within the system might be monitored forreplacement and re-charging.

[0044] The present invention provides various advantages, as notedabove, and is particularly useful when utilized with a computer orterminal that incorporates speech recognition. It is desirable that theterminal be able to identify a peripheral such as a headset or amicrophone that is being used to enter the speech. For example,potential benefits provided by the invention with respect to headsetperipherals and speech recognition, include identifying the user,identifying the type of headset used, and ensuring that an appropriateapproved headset is being utilized with the terminal. Such informationmay be used to characterize the use of the terminal and to configure itfor a specific headset or user, or a specific group of users orlocation. Specifically, when the user is identified, user-specific voicemodules can be loaded automatically. Alternatively, generic voice modelscan be adapted to a specific user. When the type of headset isidentified, speech recognizer algorithms may be modified accordingly.Additionally, the use characterizing codes or signals provided by theheadset may be used to ensure that the headset is approved for use withthe specific terminal.

[0045] In accordance with another embodiment of the inventionspecifically directed to a peripheral that provides audio signals, suchas a headset, the peripheral is operable to forward a characterizingsignal such as an I.D. code, or other code, on the dedicated andexisting lines used for audio signals, rather than requiring a separatedata line to a processor for such information. Therefore, such anembodiment of the invention may be utilized for any terminal thatutilizes a headset connector and does not require a dedicated data line.

[0046] Specifically referring to FIG. 4, a terminal 10 and a peripheral64 are shown coupled together in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention. The peripheral 64 is indicated as a headset, althoughother peripherals that may already have existing audio lines or otherlines for sending signals, such as audio signals, to the terminal mayalso be utilized in accordance with the invention.

[0047] Referring to FIG. 4, the peripheral 64, such as a headset,utilizes one or more lines 100 for directing audio signals between theterminal 10 and the headset 64. These audio signals are usually thevoice or speech signals between the headset and the terminal/centralcomputer for the user. Specifically, when the user speaks, themicrophone of the headset captures the speech and forwards it to theterminal/central computer, and vice versa for computer generatedcommands. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, in response tosome trigger event, the peripheral such as headset 64, is operable toforward a characterizing signal on one or more of the audio lines 100.The terminal then associates an operational parameter for the terminalwith the characterizing signal of the peripheral device, as discussedabove. For example, the characterizing signal might be anidentification, or I.D. signal of some kind. The characterizing signalwill have useful information therein for use by the terminal. Theoperational parameters associated with operation of the terminal andassociated with the use characterizing I.D. signal may include variousdifferent parameters, such as those related to user-specific voicemodels or generic voice models, or a modification of speech recognizeralgorithms for a specific headset.

[0048] In accordance with the invention, the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 4 eliminates the need for separate data lines like lines 75 betweenthe peripheral and the terminal. Rather, the peripheral, such as headset64, uses lines 100 for passing both voice information and thecharacterizing signal, such as an I.D. signal. As such, the invention isusable with a wide range of terminals which do not have dedicated datainputs.

[0049] To that end, in one embodiment of the invention, the lines 100may represent the audio lines from a microphone of the headset. Theheadset incorporate appropriate circuitry for generating thecharacterizing signal, and the terminal 10 utilizes circuitry that isoperable for processing the characterizing signal. In one example, thecharacterizing signal, or I.D. signal, may be an audio signal. To thatend, the headset may include a sound generating chip, such as a DTMFtone generator, as is used in telephones. The output of the soundgenerating chip in the headset is appropriately connected to the headsetmicrophone line 100 in such a way that the headset can “beep” a serialnumber, I.D., or some other “use characterizing” signal down themicrophone line to be received by the terminal 10. The terminal thenutilizes frequency analysis circuitry and any other appropriatefrequency analysis techniques for processing the I.D. signal or othercharacterizing signal from the headset. For example, in one embodiment,speech recognition software that may reside in the processor circuit 40or the companion circuit 42, may be configured for decoding the serialnumber or the I.D. number. The I.D. may be associated with a specificuser or headset owner, or a group of users or a location or some othercriteria. The terminal may then load specific voice patterns associatedwith the owner of the headset. Alternatively, the terminal may beconfigured some other way for the specific headset or the specific user.

[0050] In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a non-tone ornon-audio signal, such as a PWM stream, or pulse width modulation streammay be utilized. The processing circuitry of the terminal would then beconfigured to decode the PWM stream. In such a case, the processingcircuitry for decoding or reading the characterizing signal may besimplified.

[0051] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, thesignal may be sent from the headset to the terminal based upon aspecific trigger event. In one embodiment, the headset 64 may beconfigured to automatically forward the signal to the terminal when itis coupled to the terminal, such as when the microphone line is pluggedinto the socket in the terminal. Alternatively, the trigger event mightbe when the terminal 10 or other computer powers up. To that end, thesignal generating circuitry of the headset could potentially be poweredusing the microphone bias current that is typically supplied by theterminal on lines 100. In such a case, a capacitor, such as anultra-capacitor might be utilized to manage the temporary current surgewhen the headset is beeping. Alternatively, a long life battery might beutilized for powering the appropriate circuitry to generate the signalfrom the headset to the terminal. In one embodiment, the headset mightgenerate an I.D. signal in response to detecting bias voltage on themicrophone line 100. Alternatively, the headset may have an input 102,such as a button. When the user presses the button, the headset sendsthe signal on lines 100.

[0052] As noted above, various operational parameters might be stored inmemory, and/or be selected from a group of various parameters based onthe characterizing signal.

[0053] In another aspect of the present invention, it may be desirableto configure the operational parameters and the software terminal basedupon a system selected preference, rather than that desired by aparticular worker. That is, it may be desirable for consistency withinthe system to insure that, for certain peripherals, each of theterminals will operate the same. The present invention, utilizing ancharacterizing parameter associated with each peripheral, such asthrough a chip or other component, will allow the central computer 86 tocontrol the various terminals 80, 82 and 84 as they are configured basedupon the system user preference or criteria, rather than a specific userpreference or criteria.

[0054] Although exemplary embodiments are discussed with a single code,a peripheral might include multiple use characterizing codes which areused to define multiple characterizing parameters. Such multipleparameters could then be used for accessing or implementing multiplesets of operational parameters. Therefore, the present invention may betailored to provide the desired association of one or more sets ofoperational parameters with a specific peripheral to configure theterminal.

[0055] Therefore, the present invention improves the efficiency of theworkers and their interface with a central system and reduces the errorand time associated with configuring specific terminal equipment for aworker, based upon the peripherals used by that worker. Furthermore, themanagement, tracking and maintenance of equipment, such as peripherals,within a system is improved. And still further, consistency throughoutthe system may be improved.

[0056] While the present invention has been illustrated by thedescription of the various embodiments thereof, and while theembodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is notintended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appendedclaims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications willreadily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broaderaspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representativeapparatus and methods and illustrative examples shown and described.Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departingfrom the scope or spirit of Applicant's general inventive concept.

What is claimed:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a terminal; a peripheral device for coupling to the terminal and having at least one line for directing audio signals to the terminal; the peripheral device configured to forward a characterizing signal on the at least one line to the terminal.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the terminal is configured for associating an operational parameter for the terminal with the characterizing signal of the peripheral device.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the characterizing signal is associated with at least one of use, user, use group and location.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the characterizing signal is reflective of an ID of the peripheral device. 5 The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the characterizing signal is an audio signal.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the terminal includes frequency analysis circuitry for processing the characterizing signal.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the frequency analysis circuitry includes speech recognition circuitry.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the characterizing signal is one of a DTMF tone and a PWM stream.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the peripheral device is a headset having a microphone and a microphone line, the characterizing signal being forwarded on the microphone line.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the peripheral device includes a tone generator for generating audio tones to form the characterizing signal.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the peripheral device is configured to automatically forward the characterizing signal to the terminal when it is coupled to the terminal.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the peripheral device has an input, the peripheral device forwarding the characterizing signal to the terminal when the input is engaged.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the peripheral device includes circuitry for generating the characterizing signal, the circuitry being powered by the terminal.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the peripheral device includes circuitry for generating the characterizing signal, the circuitry being powered by a battery source in the peripheral device.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein operational parameters for the terminal are stored in memory, the terminal operable for accessing the memory using the characterizing signal.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the operational parameters are in a menu, the terminal operable for accessing the menu based upon the characterizing parameter.
 17. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the operational parameters include at least one from the group of voice templates, volume preferences, and text-to-speech preferences.
 18. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said terminal is configured for coupling with multiple different peripheral devices, the terminal being configurable to operate with multiple operational parameters associated with the peripheral device characterizing signals of the peripheral devices.
 19. A terminal for communicating with a peripheral device which has a line for sending audio signals, the terminal comprising: circuitry operable for reading a characterizing signal from the audio signal line of a peripheral device.
 20. The terminal of claim 19 further comprising circuitry operable for configuring the terminal to operate according to at least one operational parameter associated with the characterizing signal.
 21. The terminal of claim 20 wherein the operational parameter for the terminal is stored in memory which is accessed according to the characterizing signal.
 22. The terminal of claim 19 wherein the characterizing signal is reflective of an ID of the peripheral device.
 23. The terminal of claim 19 including frequency analysis circuitry operable for processing the characterizing signal.
 24. The terminal of claim 23 wherein the frequency analysis circuitry includes speech recognition circuitry.
 25. The terminal of claim 19 wherein the characterizing signal is one of a DTMF tone and a PWM stream.
 26. The terminal of claim 19 wherein the peripheral device is a headset having a microphone and a microphone line, the characterizing signal being forwarded on the microphone line.
 27. The terminal of claim 19 wherein the circuitry is configured to automatically read the characterizing signal from a peripheral device upon coupling the peripheral device to the terminal.
 28. The terminal of claim 19 wherein the characterizing signal is associated with at least one of use, user, user group, and location.
 29. A peripheral device for use with a terminal comprising: circuitry and at least one line for directing audio signals to the terminal; the circuitry configured to forward a characterizing signal on the at least one line to the terminal for configuring the operation of the terminal.
 30. The peripheral device of claim 29 wherein the characterizing signal is reflective of an ID of the peripheral device.
 31. The peripheral device of claim 29 wherein the characterizing signal is an audio signal.
 32. The peripheral device of claim 29 wherein the characterizing signal is one of a DTMF tone and a PWM stream.
 33. The peripheral device of claim 29 wherein the peripheral device is a headset having a microphone and a microphone line, the characterizing signal being forwarded on the microphone line.
 34. The peripheral device of claim 29 wherein the peripheral device includes a tone generator for generating audio tones to form the characterizing signal.
 35. The peripheral device of claim 29 wherein the peripheral device is operable to automatically forward the characterizing signal to the terminal when it is coupled to the terminal.
 36. The peripheral device of claim 29 wherein the peripheral device has an input, the peripheral device forwarding the characterizing signal to the terminal when the input is engaged.
 37. The peripheral device of claim 29 wherein the circuitry is powered by the terminal.
 38. The peripheral device of claim 29 wherein the circuitry is powered by a battery source in the peripheral device.
 39. The peripheral device of claim 29 wherein the characterizing signal is associated with at least one of use, user, user group and location.
 40. A method for interfacing between a peripheral device and a terminal comprising: with a peripheral device having at least one line for directing audio signals to the terminal, forwarding a characterizing signal to the terminal on the at least one line.
 41. The method of claim 40 wherein the characterizing signal is associated with at least one of use, user, user group and location.
 42. The method of claim 40 wherein the terminal is configured for associating an operational parameter of the terminal with the characterizing signal.
 43. The method of claim 42 further comprising configuring the terminal to operate according to at least one operational parameter associated with the characterizing parameter of the peripheral device.
 44. The method of claim 40 wherein the characterizing signal is reflective of an ID of the peripheral device.
 45. The method of claim 40 wherein the characterizing signal is an audio signal.
 46. The method of claim 40 wherein the terminal includes frequency analysis circuitry operable for processing the characterizing signal.
 47. The method of claim 46 wherein the frequency analysis circuitry includes speech recognition circuitry.
 48. The method of claim 40 wherein the characterizing signal is one of a DTMF tone and a PWM stream.
 49. The method of claim 40 wherein the peripheral device is a headset having a microphone and a microphone line and further comprising forwarding the characterizing signal on the microphone line.
 50. The method of claim 40 further comprising generating audio tones with a tone generator to form the characterizing signal.
 51. The method of claim 40 further comprising automatically forwarding the characterizing signal to the terminal when the peripheral it is coupled to the terminal.
 52. The method of claim 40 wherein the peripheral device has an input, the method further comprising forwarding the characterizing signal to the terminal when the input is engaged.
 53. The method of claim 42 wherein operational parameters for the terminal are stored in memory, further comprising accessing the memory using the characterizing signal.
 54. The method of claim 42 wherein the operational parameters are in a menu, further comprising accessing the menu based upon the characterizing parameter.
 55. The method of claim 40 wherein the operational parameters include at least one from the group of voice templates, volume preferences, and text-to-speech preferences.
 56. A method for interfacing between a peripheral device and a terminal comprising: with a terminal, reading a characterizing signal from the audio signal line of a peripheral device.
 57. The method of claim 56 wherein the characterizing signal is associated with at least one of use, user, user group and location.
 58. The method of claim 56 further comprising configuring the terminal to operate according to at least one operational parameter associated with the characterizing signal.
 59. The method of claim 56 wherein the characterizing signal is one of a DTMF tone and a PWM stream.
 60. The method of claim 56 further comprising automatically reading the characterizing signal from a peripheral device upon coupling the peripheral device to the terminal.
 61. The method of claim 56 wherein the peripheral device is a headset having a microphone and a microphone line, the method comprising reading the characterizing signal from the microphone line.
 62. The method of claim 56 further comprising analyzing audio tones to read the characterizing signal.
 63. A terminal for communicating with a computer, comprising: circuitry for controlling the operation of the terminal, the circuitry configured to read a characterizing parameter from a peripheral device coupled to the terminal; the circuitry further configured to make the terminal operate according to at least one operational parameter associated with the characterizing parameter of the peripheral device.
 64. The terminal of claim 63 wherein said circuitry includes an RFID reader for reading a characterizing parameter in the form of an RFID signal.
 65. The terminal of claim 63 wherein said circuitry is configured for receiving a bar code from a bar code reader peripheral device the bar code providing said characterizing parameter.
 66. The terminal of claim 63 wherein the characterizing parameter is associated with at least one of use, user, user group and location. 